Petecio schools taller Indian foe to advance in Paris

MANILA, Philippines – Nesthy Petecio outclassed a much taller Jaismine Lamboria of India, putting up a defensive clinic en route to a unanimous decision win to advance in the women’s 57kg boxing competition in the Paris Olympics early Wednesday.

The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist made her 5-foot-9 Indian foe miss throughout three rounds with her amazing head movement and footwork. At the same time, Petecio was able to break through Lamboria’s defense to land several overhand rights.

The skill disparity had been glaring as Petecio, standing at only 5-foot-2, used feints, and bobbed and weaved to confuse Lamboria, who struggled to land anything significiant despite having obvious advantages in height and reach.

The 32 year-old Petecio won on all five judges’ scorecards for a rousing opener in Paris, a victory that should boost her confidence heading into the round of 16 against France's Amina Zidani at around 2 a.m. on Saturday (Manila time).